Tanis and Emily requested vacation time from their respective employers and got it. Emily’s boss seemed relieved.
“It’s been almost five years you’ve worked here and I dunno if you’ve taken a sick day, let alone an actual vacation. You can’t run yourself down.”
Emily smiled, not knowing how to respond.
“You going with that lady of yours?” The cafe owner grinned while she initialled the cash drop. She’d been slow to realise that Tanis wasn’t more than just a friend of Emily’s, but could now be relied on to occasionally tease them about making it official.
“Yeah, Tanis and I are going on a trip.”
“Well, you girls have fun!” With a leer that had only the purest intentions behind it, she took the bank envelope and left.
Emily exhaled with relief at avoiding questions about their ‘vacation’ and focused on plotting the upcoming schedules, easing off the hours she was there so the other morning barista could get used to the routine.
Tanis had nearly as smooth a time, though for a less wholesome reason. It turned out the program she worked for was losing funding. Her boss was apologetic, Tanis was horrified.
“He said, ‘I suggest you just line up all your PTO and take it as soon as possible. I am betting we won’t be able to buy you out when we close up shop.” Tanis shook her head, shocked. “I mean, I know how employment is, with how the world is now, but? Ugh. And he said there’s little reason to keep coming in, either.”
“Your life has been super lucky.” Emily pulled her close, resting her cheek in Tanis’ hair. “Family, college, job out of college, grad school, then a better job?” She pushed back on Tanis’ shoulders to look her in the eye. “But then, you had to find me.” Emily gave a crooked smile. “Some of my bad luck must have rubbed off—to balance out all the good luck of having you.”
“You are super sweet and super fucked up. But thank you.” She snuggled closer again. Emily could hear Tanis’ voice echoing through her skull into her cheek, muffling the words. “I wonder if we can move up the time table?”
“Well, we could do recon if you’re feeling antsy. Are you packed?”
“Not yet, but I guess I have time to do it now.”
“Pack some basics in the backpack I gave you and we can pop in the next time Ian has an evening off.”
Tanis called Emily later that evening as she packed. “I know it’s just a day trip, but I want to be prepared.”
“Girl scout.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Wait, you were a Girl Scout?”
“I’ve told you this. I was for years. It’s how I first encountered self-defence training.” There were crinkling sounds over the speaker.
“Are you packing candy?”
“No, Pavlov’s dog, I am packing energy bars. Real ones.”
“Why?”
“Well, some Sidhe-info know-it-all pointed out that I’m just a boring human who’ll still get hungry. And who knows what’s edible, or has the right vitamins.”
“Vitamins.”
“I’m not getting scurvy in fairyland.”
“Like a pirate.”
“Focus.”
Emily walked down the porch stairs into the evening-cool grass and lay down, staring at the stars, feeling the grass tickle her ear along the border of the phone. “Focusing.”
“Besides, the only way to see if the backpack’s magic works for me is to try it. So, I’ll pack it full and see how it wears over the time we’re there.”
“You are full of brains.”
“Are you drinking.”
“No. But I think I have that close-to-death whimsical mania. Joy interspersed by stomach-dropping terror.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know. Tanis, it’s such a world of imagination that you can’t imagine it. But at the same time, it’s less than nothing.”
“Don’t think about it.”
“What?”
“Honey, I know I’ve been at you to open up, but you obviously have a strong coping mechanism in packing shit away until you can deal with it. If you don’t feel like you can keep it together right now, it is okay to just not worry about it. I give you permission to bottle it up.”
“But—”
“Only if you promise to uncork the damn bottle later with me so we can work that shit out.”
“Baby,” Emily sniffled.
“C’mon, give me your word, I know you fairies live for that shit.”
“Micro-agression. But, I give you my word.”
Tanis snickered and Emily joined in. She watched the stars slowly spin around the pole while she listened to Tanis pack.
***
“So, we should only be gone a couple of hours at most. I just want to get some info.” Emily tried to keep her tone casual. She made regular visits to the Sidhe to give the hare film. This would be no different, except she wouldn’t make the trip as fast as possible and she’d be with Tanis. She glanced at her girlfriend, who was kitted out in her most comfortable and worn-in hiking gear, her hair perfectly golden in the strong, late afternoon sun.
Ian gently shook Emily by the shoulder. “Chill, lady.”
She swatted his hand away, smiling behind her frown. With the rhythm of habit, she patted her pockets and tapped her small shoulder bag. She’d packed film for the hare, rolling tobacco, her Polaroid, spare film for it and a lighter. She’d slung a sweatshirt over the bag, ever the kind of person who always takes an extra layer, even in the summer. Her knife sat on her belt, a distantly familiar weight.
Rolling her eyes as she went through her pockets again, Emily pulled out her keys and wallet. “Man, I never remember.” She handed them over to Ian.
“Why leave them here?” Tanis cocked her head.
“Because it’d suck if I lost my keys somewhere in there, or if some shit stole my I.D. or something.”
“Also, it’s got your name on it,” Ian added. “Folk can read English.”
“Through my pants?” Tanis rolled her eyes, but handed her keys and money clip over. Emily had already warned her about the power of names in the Sidhe.
“You ready?” Emily grabbed Tanis’ hand.
“Totally, besides, I already went once with the boys.” She squeezed Emily’s hand.
“Fine then.” Emily took a deep breath and poked Ian in the arm. “Be good.”
“Always.” He flopped onto the ground, half in and half out of the arbour.
This post is part of The Consoling Divide – Serialised. See the archive and overall content warnings here, and find more of my writing here. I’m over on both Comradery and Patreon, if you feel like supporting my creative endeavours. If you’d like to subscribe to this story, here’s a handy email box for you: